Doctorate in Business AdministrationThe Athabasca University online DBA is the ideal next step for experienced managers and senior leaders who hold an MBA (or an equivalent master’s degree) and want to pursue a comprehensive curriculum of advanced management theory and practice, combined with the opportunity to conduct practical research that will make a difference in today’s complex business environment.

Master (MBA) The AU online Executive MBA helps you develop the comprehensive advanced management skills you need for success in any sector—without putting your life on hold. Intakes are three times per year: Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Online Executive MBAThe AU online Executive MBA helps you develop the comprehensive advanced management skills you need for success in any sector—without putting your life on hold. Intakes are three times per year: Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Post Baccalaureate Diploma in ManagementThe PBDM is awarded after successful completion of Phase One of the MBA program and can be taken as a stand-alone credential. Admission requirements are the same as for the MBA.

Online Bachelor of CommerceThe BComm is one of the most highly recognized credentials in the Canadian business community. AU graduates stand out from the crowd as motivated self-starters who combine a desire to succeed with proven skills in time management, technology usage and leadership.

Online Bachelor of ManagementThe BMgmt provides a broad base of management knowledge in accounting, communication theory and practice, information systems, management science, organizational behaviour, economics and commercial law. It takes a strong international perspective on business and explores the ethical, global, political, and environmental issues that organizations face every day.

Certificate ProgramsCertificate programs can help you get a handle on management basics or specialize in a specific discipline. Better yet, certificates can be laddered into the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Management programs, so if and when you do decide to pursue a full degree, you’ll have a head start.

Professional AccountingAU’s Faculty of Business provides specific courses and programs to help you meet the requirements for all of the Canadian accounting designations. You can register just in the specific prerequisite courses that you require for your designation, or you can enroll in a degree or certificate that will help you meet your goals.

Diploma to DegreeAthabasca University has worked with many community colleges and technical institutes to build post diploma routes to degree completion. These post diploma programs recognize university-level work that has been completed in the college sector and awards block credit into our Bachelor of Management (BMgmt) and Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) programs.

“Educators have an obligation to be more creative and innovative in how they use online technology. The goal should never be to simply replicate what has traditionally been done face-to-face.”

Teang Tang, Student

“What I have learned is helping me shape the strategy of my business, quantifying the results of the actions I want to take. I chose Athabasca University specifically because I enjoy the independent learning approach it takes and the ability to incorporate my studies within my schedule. AU allows me to balance everything.”

Richard Vaillancourt, DBA Student

“The AU Doctorate in Business Administration is more practitioner oriented than other programs. We still study a lot of theory, but we work on how theoretical approaches can be practically applied. That holds more meaning to me.”

Lyudmila Bezpala Brown, MBA

“I have this message for other women (or men!) who want to have a great career and family, and think they can’t do it all: YES YOU CAN do it. It’s tough, but you can do it!”

Maj. Brian Roach, MBA

“I chose to do my MBA with AU because it allowed me to take my studies wherever my military work took me. What the MBA developed for me was the diverse range of analytical skills that boost confidence to act. It is exceptionally helpful in dealing with my work now, and I’m sure it will be in future opportunities.”

Joyce Fortune, PhD, MBA Academic Coach

“I teach from England, but the way AU has structured the course environment allows me to get a real sense of my students and who they are. You see them working day in and day out throughout the eight weeks you are with them. You don’t just get the final assignment; you see them develop.”

Rosalie Hilde, DBA

“Previously I did research but not at this level. Now I feel like being a researcher could also be a career. This is a new discovery for me and it was possible because of the AU DBA program.”

Tyler Nagel, BComm

“I chose AU specifically because of the at-your-own-pace learning model, but I stayed because of the faculty and support. They surpassed my expectations over and over.”

Terry Beckman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Marketing

“In a classroom, a student asks you a question and you have to answer right away with the best knowledge you have off the top of your head. In the online program, I can think a few minutes or even go look something up. The student gets a more valuable answer.”

Margaret Law, DBA

“The AU DBA offered two things that I needed. One was that it is adaptable for people who work and you don’t actually have to be physically there, which is important to me since I travel a lot with my work. The other one is acceptance—unlike a traditional PhD program—of a practical problem for you to research as opposed to something more theoretical.”

Simon Tran, MBA

“I wanted an MBA to answer tough questions for our company: how do we gain market share, what products should we carry, how do we measure effectiveness, can we do this smarter? Now that I’ve earned the MBA, I still ask these questions but I approach them as opportunities and know I can solve them. The AU MBA broadened my perspectives and changed the way I think.”

Louise Taylor Green, MBA

“There comes a time in your professional life when you ask ‘is this really it?’ and you start exploring possibilities of how you can get more of what you want. For me, that exploration led to Athabasca’s MBA program. I knew I’d experience a rich learning environment with mature, accomplished fellow students and that I could fit the learning into my very busy work and home life. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and completing the program has opened so many doors!”

Victor Jensch, MBA

“The AU MBA is an investment. It demands your time, thought, creativity, and even passion. You get back that investment many times over and see the difference in yourself from day one.”

John Couto, MBA, CGA

“Taking the AU MBA transformed my decision making process and introduced frameworks and tools to think more strategically and different. Having earned an accounting designation, AU gave me transfer credits, which reduced tuition costs and time to complete the program. I would highly recommend AU’s MBA to other accountants wanting to take their careers to the next level.”

Sanjesh R. Singh, BComm

“I fit school around my life instead of putting it on hold and earned my BComm while working in our family business. Next stop: a career in accounting.”

Claudia Heigl, BComm

“My professors were there to answer my questions – they always took the time and were very patient. One professor in particular was really inspiring to me…she would explain things with real-life terms, ina way that I could understand them.”

Derek Lothian Vice President, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

“We chose to work with AU because of their ability to customize and develop content specifically to suit the needs within the manufacturing sector. AU’s online environment allows students... from across Canada to collaborate, exchange ideas and challenge thinking through leveraging their online environment.”

Natalie Allport, BComm Student

“Participating in the CME education day was an incredible opportunity that provided me with further insight on the finance industry and on business as a whole.”

Wayne van Wyk, MBA

“You need the support of your family and friends to get through this, but it’s not so unmanageable that you can’t have fun along the way. Each year our family takes a vacation and I brought AU along with me. In the mornings as we sat on the Caribbean beach, there I was with my text books beside me. The rest of the time, we were on holidays.”

Bryan Delodder, MBA

“Sitting in a classroom a couple nights a week or on weekends simply wasn’t possible for me. I needed a program where I could be in China one week and in Germany the next. During the MBA, I’ve moved back and forth from Canada, and spent two years living in the Netherlands. I did homework on more flights than I can count. I was also able to put the program on ‘pause’ when work demanded more of me. Athabasca was flexible enough that no matter what life had in store, I could be successful.”

Roger Lemaitre, MBA

“We are surrounded by people, both in our personal lives and at work, who see the world similarly to us. It can be rare to come across a completely different view. Almost everyday in this MBA, I was challenged to think bigger and broader. It sounds simple to say, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ but when you have all these conversations about how things can or should be done differently, it changes the way you see your own career, company, industry and the world.”

“It can get pretty complicated to juggle work, life, and school. Our role is to help students make sense of their schedules and trouble shoot any issues they might have… hopefully long before they actually become real issues! We know that students can’t always predict when challenges or opportunities will present themselves. We’ll work with you to make sure you have a plan that works for you.”

“Our goal is to provide the best possible environment for integrating theory and practice. We do this by focusing on real business problems and building on the knowledge and expertise of both teachers and learners through discussion and collaboration.”

Alexander Poulton, BComm Student

“Competing for AU was a great team building experience, an opportunity to meet profs, and a great way to make great friends!”

Leah Purdy, MBA

“Perhaps one of the best and most unexpected experiences I’ve had through AU's MBA program has been learning from the many diverse backgrounds and perspectives of my classmates and program faculty. I believe the global accessibility of this program, where both instructors and students come together in a virtual community from just about anywhere, has given richness and depth to my learning experience.”

Lee Henderson, DBA Student

“In my opinion, the true advantage of the AU DBA is that some of the professors in the program did their own PhDs part time while working full-time in their careers. Their experience in juggling their studies and senior management positions allows them to really understand the students’ needs and challenges as part-time doctoral students. I recommend anyone in Canada’s college or university system lacking a doctorate degree to consider AU’s DBA program.”

Harriet Thornhill, MBA

“When I started my MBA, my two sons were transitioning from the teenage years, my daughter was only three years old, my husband was busy with his career, and I had to keep up with a fully charged role at RBC. Quite frankly, the flexibility provided by the AU MBA, along with the support of RBC and my family, were key contributors to my decision to pursue this MBA.”

Doug Grant, MBA

“Since taking the AU MBA, I have risen through the ranks to executive management at The Oopenheimer Group. My position is Vice President and COO with responsibilities for IT, manufacturing, quality control, operations, transportation, food safety and supplier relations. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t apply what I’ve learned from the AU MBA.”

Nadine Robinson, DBA

“I knew that if I wanted to continue teaching full-time, I would require a DBA or PhD—and I definitely wanted to teach full-time. I get so jazzed about the teaching environment. It is just electric to be around students all the time and so rewarding.”

Anshula Ohri, MBA Student

“Athabasca represents the best of a democratic society, where equality of opportunity is actually achieved through education for all."

Tanveer Ahmed, DBA Student

“There were academics who were very strong researchers, but when I looked at their research and compared it with real life situations, there was a disconnect. It isn’t research alone that has use for practitioners. Because I am in the industry and seeing things in real life, I wanted to be able to do my doctorate without that disconnect. Financially, I could have survived as a full-time student, but I would have been out of touch with industry and I didn’t want that.”

Hamid Shirazi, MBA

“No other scheduled class or distance MBA program could fit my lifestyle – family commitments, a three hour daily commute in the GTA, a complex and demanding career, business travel – and meet my requirements for daily access to experienced academic coaches, an excellent academic coach to student ratio, and daily interaction with peers and classmates from different industries across the county.”

Stephanie Partridge, MBA Student

“The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Market Education Conference in Chicago provided me with the opportunity to meet my fellow AU students and other students from around the world. I found it very interesting to learn about the CME groups' move towards digitization with the recent elimination of the trading floor.”

Gary Vince, MBA

“The program brings tremendous benefit, both during and after completion. While business and financial gain is certainly a critical success factor, the level of confidence you gain in your own abilities to successfully navigate through a globalized business environment is a key reason to take the AU MBA program.”

Athabasca University Faculty of Business Accreditations

Canada

AU is recognized by the Government of Alberta and reports to the Government of Alberta through the Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education. Through Alberta’s Post-secondary Learning Act, the government authorizes Athabasca University Governing Council to govern the university and to grant degrees.

United States

In 2006, AU became the first Canadian public university to receive accreditation in the United States, through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), one of six regional organizations in the U.S. that accredits universities. No other public Canadian university holds this level of foreign accreditation.